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> Tue., Oct. 18, 2005
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FREE SPEECH RADIO NEWS
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Today's lead stories:
Bush Administration Continues to Push “Guest Worker”
Program
UN Reform
The Wake of Hurricane Stan in Guatemala
Native Americans Sue Over Ski Resort Expansion in Arizona
Commission Reviews South Dakota Social Services
Watsonville Commemorates Victims of Violence
FSRN Headlines
TORTURE CASE IN UK
Seven of Britain's top judges began hearing evidence this
week on whether Britain can use evidence from other countries
against terror suspects that may have been obtained by torture.
Naomi Fowler reports from London:
The issue of torture was raised last year when foreign nationals
held for years without charge or trial under suspicion of
terrorism challenged the Court of Appeal. Their lawyers claim
the men were being held on evidence obtained by torture carried
out in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. They asked the courts to rule
against the use of evidence obtained by foreign states using
torture. But the court decided by a 2-1 majority that as long
as there's no involvement by the UK, evidence obtained under
torture by agents of another country IS admissible. The ruling
provoked anger and concern among human rights organizations
across the world. Now, Britain's highest court, the House
of Lords is hearing an appeal against that ruling. Lawyers
argue that it breaches article 3 of the European Convention
on Human Rights, which bans torture or degrading treatment.
The judges will hear evidence from organizations such as Amnesty
International, Liberty and the Law Society. They're expected
to reach a decision by the end of the year. This is Naomi
Fowler in London for Free Speech Radio News.
MASS GRAVE UNCOVERED
Forensic experts in Bosnia-Herzegovina have uncovered the
remains of 482 victims in a village 20 miles from the location
of one of modern Europe's most notorious massacres. Officials
said earlier that the remains of another 1,000 victims have
been already discovered in four other mass graves in the same
village. Zoran Culafic reports from Belgrade.
Forensics experts believe that the remains are of Bosnian
Muslims murdered after Bosnian Serb Army Commander General
Ratko Mladic entered the city of Srebrenica in July 1995.
The forensic team leader, Murat Hurtic, says that the condition
of the remains indicated that they had been moved to the mass
grave in the village of Liplje in an attempt to hide them.
Of the hundreds of sets of remains uncovered - only eight
skeletons were intact. In July 1995 Serb soldiers overran
the eastern Bosnian enclave of Srebrenica during the Yugoslav
civil war killing around 7,000 Muslim men and boys in what
is seen as the Europe's worst massacre since World War II.
Serb General Ratko Mladic and war time Serb leader Radovan
Karadzic have been indicted by the Hague based International
Criminal Tribunal for former Yugoslavia, however both of the
are still at large. For Free Speech Radio News, I'm Zoran
Culafic in Belgrade.
KASHMIR MINISTER MURDERED
A minister was killed in Indian administered Kashmir today
when two militants barged into a high security zone. Two security
personnel one civilian and One of the assailants were also
killed in the shootout. From Kashmir Shahnawaz Khan has more.
Two armed militants entered A highly protected VIP residential
locality in Srinigar on Tuesday, killing the state Minister
of Education and three others. Security guards at the gate
challenged the assailants, triggering a gun battle which killed
one militant and two policemen. The other assailant jumped
over the boundary wall into the adjoining house and opened
fire at the Education Minister and his two guests. The gunman
managed to escape from the scene. Two militant outfits --
al Mansoorian and Islamic Front -- separately claimed responsibility
for the attack. The attack came despite, A temporary suspension
of operations called by an alliance of 14 militant groups
active in Kashmir. Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed condemned
the incident, saying the attack was made more reprehensible
as the state remains in shock over the devastation by the
killer quake on October 8. The Jammu and Kashmir government
has ordered a high-level inquiry to probe how the two guerrillas
entered the highly guarded Tulsibagh locality. For Free Speech
Radio News I'm Shahnawaz Khan from Srinagar, Kashmir.
HURRICANE SURVIVORS ASSOCIATION
The thousands of Gulf Coast residents wishing to return home
have joined forces with the Association of Community Organizations
for Reform Now - or ACORN to form the first nationwide organization
of displaced New Orleans residents and other Katrina survivors.
Grace Turner reports.
This morning the nation's largest community organization
of low- and moderate-income families, ACORN, announced the
launch of the Katrina Survivors Association or AKSA. Stephen
Bradbury, New Orleans AKSA head organizer, believes the government
has failed in its response to the needs of the victims of
Katrina.
(Bradbury) "I recall an article in the Wall Street Journal
where rich white people up on Saint Charles Avenue where saying
that they would like to see economic and demographic change
in the city. They don't want the type of people who were there
before coming back and that would certainly lead us to believe
they are working to keep people who are the heart and soul
of New Orleans from returning home." (25 sec)
The ACORN Katrina Survivor Association plans to reach a total
of 100,000 members in the next year. In the coming months,
AKSA members say they will use public pressure, direct action,
and dialogue with elected officials to rebuild their communities
from the grassroots up. For Free Speech Radio News, I'm Grace
Turner.
TEACHERS STRIKE IN BC
Some 38,000 public school teachers in British Columbia, Canada,
today complete their first week of what the government calls
an illegal strike. Alison Benjamin reports from Vancouver.
Teachers walked out after the provincial government extended
teaching contracts for two years. The government passed a
law in 2001 declaring public education an essential service.
This made strikes by public school teachers illegal. After
finding the teacher's union in civil contempt last week, the
BC Supreme Court froze assets the union could use as strike
pay. The BC attorney-general has hired a special prosecutor
to look at whether the union should face criminal charges
for refusing to work. On Monday, thousands of teachers and
other unionized workers marched at the legislature in Victoria,
the capital of BC. Public transportation stopped in Victoria
and was slowed in Nanaimo as workers carried out sympathy
strikes. BC Transit is seeking a court order to resume transit
service in Victoria. Around 600,000 students are affected
by the strike. Alison Benjamin, FSRN, Vancouver
[top]
Bush Administration Continues to Push “Guest
Worker” Program (3:59)
The Bush administration signaled today that it would oppose
any immigration proposal that created a legal pathway to legal
permanent residency for undocumented immigrants. Instead,
the administration reiterated its call for a temporary guest
worker program that would allow undocumented immigrants to
work for up to 6 years in the US before being forced to leave.
From Capitol Hill, Mitch Jeserich reports.
[top]
UN Reform (2:36)
During the celebration of the United Nations World Food
Day in Rome yesterday, Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe identified
US President Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair as
"unholy men." These comments, and those from Venezuelan
President Hugo Chavez , criticizing what he called the "North
American empire," led to applause from the audience.
Today, the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee held hearings
on United Nations reform. Ingrid Drake reports from Washington,
DC.
[top]
The Wake of Hurricane Stan in Guatemala
(2:44)
Wilma has now become the 12 hurricane this season, which
ties the 1969 record. The hurricane may touch down on parts
of Honduras and Nicaragua, where red alerts have been issued
and residents are preparing heavy rains, which may cause flash-floods
and mudslides. Meanwhile, the wake of Hurricane Stan has already
devastated parts of Central America and southern Mexico in
the past few weeks. Guatemala was the hardest hit by the storm,
where at least 650 people have died and thousands have lost
their homes. Jill Replogle reports from Santiago Atitlán,
Guatemala.
[top]
Native Americans Sue Over Ski Resort Expansion in
Arizona (3:41)
A trial is currently underway in Prescott Arizona, where
native American groups and environmentalists have joined together
in an effort to stop the expansion of a ski resort in the
San Francisco Peaks. The area is sacred to 13 native American
tribes as well as being a region of unique bio-diversity.
The case may hinge on the religious rights of the native Americans
and if successful, may affect how millions of acres of federal
land across the country are managed. Maeve Conran reports.
[top]
Commission Reviews South Dakota Social Services
(3:06)
South Dakota's Indian Child Welfare Act Commission held
its final meeting in Rapid City this weekend. The Commission
was created in January 2004 by Governor Mike Rounds to examine
complaints that the Indian Child Welfare Act has been routinely
violated by South Dakota's Department of Social Services.
FSRN correspondent Jim Kent spoke to members of the Commission
to see what they've accomplished during their tenure, and
what they anticipate for future compliance by the state.
[top]
Watsonville Commemorates Victims of Violence
(3:02)
October is known as Crime Prevention Month. Hundreds gathered
in Watsonville, CA this weekend, to march for peace and commemorate
the victims of violence. FSRN ‘s Vinny Lombardo has
the story.
[top]
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